DAVID Foote’s iconic images of major world events, world leaders, royalty and Australian Prime Ministers have captured unforgettable moments in history for a quarter of a century.

With more than one and half million clicks captured by the lens of the Scottish-born Australian photographer for the Australian Government Photographic Service (Auspic), Foote’s 25 years of service is being marked by ‘The Official Observer” exhibition of more than 40 framed images and 100 PowerPoint scrolling slides at Parliament House.

The images include the 14th Dalai Lama with former Opposition Leader leader of the Opposition Kim Beazley sharing a “laughing-fit” moment, Barack Obama getting an AFL football lesson from Julia Gillard in the Oval Office of the White House and the Duchess of Cornwall, Camila Parker Bowles, scaring her husband Prince Charles with a knife during an official visit to the Barossa Valley.

“Some images just come together with a smile, a flower or something totally unexpected, like the Duchess of Cornwall showing her ‘playful’ personality by frightening Prince Charles,” David said.”‘It’s these small casual human acts that tell the biggest story in a single frame.

‘The biggest challenge for any photographer is catching that perfect moment. One of my favourite images on display is of the former Prime Minister Julia Gillard when she visited the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul. Ms Gillard wore a blue scarf. She looked up at the mosaic ceiling for a split second and I took the photo. Some images just fall into place, expression, location, and this one did.”

Some of the other images on display capture intimate moments during royal visits by the Queen, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Mary Crown Princess of Denmark. Other photographs chronicle significant historical events including former PM John Howard’s Washington visit, which coincided with the fateful events of September 11, 2001.

“I often feel like Cinderella being a photographer,” said David.

“There’s lots of waiting for a few seconds of time but once these moments are captured they need to be shown otherwise they’re forgotten. My passion for photography started when I was interested in aviation, building model aircraft kits. Living near Sydney airport, I would ride around photographing planes. People were the last thing I wanted to photograph.

“I wrote to the premier British aviation magazine ‘Flight’ asking for a job as a photographer. They suggested I try working for a newspaper instead. I ended up working for a religious newspaper in Adelaide, and covered Pope John Paul’s visit to Australia, which was my first exposure to the media.

“I later moved to Canberra and a position in the Government Photographic Service was available and I thought this would be different and new, and would be great for six months. Twenty-five years later, it’s been the best journey through moments in time that I’m pleased to share with the rest of Australia.’

“The Official Observer” is on display at Parliament House until May 14.

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